Balance Emblem
Items article |image=BalanceReaver.jpg |caption=The Balance Reaver enhancement in Defiance. |introduced= Legacy of Kain: Defiance (2003) |appearances= Defiance}} The Balance Emblem was an 'upgrade artifact' that Kain found fragments of throughout Legacy of Kain: Defiance. Profile Kain originally discovered the centre element of the Balance Emblem (which was likely the 'Balance Fragment' and gifted him with the 'Balance Reaver') in The Chapel of the Sarafan Stronghold, upon returning to the Stronghold in Nosgoth's early history, a few years after the events of Soul Reaver 2. Kain surmised that the emblem was of Ancient Vampire origin and that it's display in the Chapel indicated Moebius intended for him to find it. Moebius all but confirmed this when they met later on in the Stronghold.It enabled him to pass the 'Blessed Barriers ' and enhanced his charged and Reaver Spell attacks. Kain would discover further Pillar orientated fragments of the Balance Emblem throughout the game: Later on in the stronghold he discovered the Flame/Conflict Fragment, which granted him the Flame/Conflict Reaver and allowed him to perform Fire attacks and upgraded his Telekinesis accordingly, the Reaver Spell was much in the vein of Blood Omen's 'Inspire Hate ' spell. He would recover the Dimension fragment and Dimension Reaver, from an area beside The Pillars (and apparently overlooking the Lake of Tears ) which would increase his teleportation abilities. The Lightning/Energy Fragment was found in the Vampire Citadel, In the Water Forge, which gave him the Lightning/Energy Reaver and gave an ability which appeared to be a modified Lightning ability from Blood Omen (seen used in a similar manner by the Hylden Lord in Blood Omen 2 and Kain himself in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver and Soul Reaver 2 ) The Time Fragment was also in the Vampire Citadel, in the Light Forge . This granted Kain the 'Time Reaver', which slowed the movements of Enemy characters, much the same as Slow Time artefacts from Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain . Notes Defiance-Model-Object-Be hub.png Defiance-Model-Object-Be all lock.png As noted above, the Balance emblem's various upgrade fragments were based upon the various pillars (with Flame representing Conflict and Lightning representing energy), as such, it is likely they were a development of the Pillar Glyphs concept removed from Soul Reaver 2. Though stated to be complete when Kain receives the Time Fragment, the Balance Emblem was originally supposed to have fragments for each of the pillars - the game is missing Mind, Nature, States and Death. It is currently unknown what the powers of these fragments would be, or if they will feature in future titles. The Balance Reaver enhancement was an augmentation for The Reaver used by Kain in Legacy of Kain: Defiance. Presumably of Ancient Vampire origin, Kain gained it when he acquired the Balance fragment of the Balance Emblem . Profile The Balance enhancement was the first Reaver enhancement gained by Kain in Defiance. Kain found the enhancement in Chapter 1 as he investigated the Sarafan Stronghold and discovered the hub of the Balance Emblem laid across his path in the 'Sanctuary' area of the stronghold. Collecting the fragment, Kain found it had endowed the Reaver with elemental Balance energy, upgrading its power . The Balance enhancement caused the Reaver blade to glow with red energies and once found, it enabled the Reaver to be upgraded, allowing Kain to charge the blade and take advantage of Charged attacks and Reaver spells for the first time. A single strike from the Balance enhancement was sufficient to dispel the Blessed barriers throughout the stronghold, whilst in combat, its charged attacks dealt further damage, whilst its Reaver Spell caused splash damage to nearby enemies. . Notes *This Reaver enhancement and accompanying fragment of the Balance Emblem are not explicitly named in game, where it is referred to simply as "Balance Emblem" in menus - the name given for the whole artifact . *The Prima Guide notes the Balance Reaver enhancement simply as "Balance" : suggesting that it is affiliated with the Pillar of Balance and that the accompanying fragment represents Balance - with the enhancement itself also known as the''"Balance Reaver"'' . Defiance: Kain's Reavers at Dark Chronicle (by Marie Tryhorn) *In game files the Balance enhancement is referred to as "reaver_blood" and as "Blood Reaver" under debug menus . *Given Kain's speculations and Moebius' reaction to Kain's possession of the Balance Emblem, it is likely that he left the Balance fragment for Kain to find . The Balance fragment was the first fragment of the Balance Emblem found by Kain in ''Defiance'' . Kain found the fragment in William's chapel in the Sarafan Stronghold . The fragment was a powerful relic which was aligned to the pillar of Balance, it imbued the Balance Reaver which enabled Kain to dispel Blessed Barriers. Notes This fragment is the heart of the Balance Emblem, the fragment or it's accompanying Reaver are not named in game as the "Balance Reaver" and "Balance fragment", and so may just be the base of the emblem, the Prima Official Defiance Guide and the debug menus do refer to them as 'Balance' however. Defiance-Stronghold-Sanctuary-MidBack.PNG Defiance-Stronghold-Sanctuary-William'sChapel.PNG Defiance-BalanceFragment-Gain.PNG See also * Defiance: Kain's Reavers at Dark Chronicle (by Marie Tryhorn). References Browse Category:Browse Category:Defiance Category:Items Category:Items/Defiance Kain's Reavers Category:Items/Defiance